Pull down on your sand bar! Thanks for visiting our world-Oct 12 TR w/ FLE! NEW 5/22

[Imagineer5]

Originally Posted by Alysa

What wonderful photo shoot images! You look so happy! I've never even thought of doing that before but they are lovely. Where do you get the information on booking one?

I think it was disneyeventphotography.com ?

It was the 20 minute shoot, and the photographers are the same ones that do the disney weddings - so really professional (vs like the photopass photographers). I think it was $150 for the session, and it came with the USB stick of images, and she did not try to sell us prints or anything, just handed us the images. She also would not accept a tip, we tried handing her maybe $40 (I don't remember) and she wouldn't take it even after insisting. So all in all, I thought that was pretty reasonable.

Thanks!

[Imagineer5]

Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! In laws just left and we are so excited for arias first Christmas tomorrow. Hope you all have a magical day!

[Leger13]

Merry Christmas!!

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[Imagineer5]

Originally Posted by Leger13

Merry Christmas!!

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Thanks! Hope you had a great one!!

I'm back at work, and starting next week I'll be here 4 days per week instead of 3. BOO. But that means possibly more DIS time!

Hope everyone had a great holiday and new year!

[cbcrockett]

Hope y'all are doing well and that Miss Aria had a WONDERFUL first birthday!!!

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[Bamadisdreamer]

Hope everything is ok, can't wait to hear about your other trips!

[cbcrockett]

Originally Posted by Bamadisdreamer

Hope everything is ok, can't wait to hear about your other trips!

Second!

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[kmedina]

Subbing to make sure I do not miss the new one. Will catch up on this one soon.

[kmedina]

Aria gets cuter every time I see her. I cannot wait to read more about her trip. You got a 3 bedroom condo for 7 days for $350! That is fantastic. I would not pass on that either.

[kmedina]

Sounds like Aria did really well on the flight. It reminds me on how well Connor did at 5 months. We just took him again at 21 months, and that did not go as well. The flight home was especially hard. There were 3 lap kids on the plane, and I joked with another passenger that they all took turns crying. While Connor was not the worst of tethered, he was not the best either. The teenager who sat behind us asked Crap if his flight was stressful when it was over. That was not a good sign.

I always overpack too. I forgot I promised Crap I would do laundry during the last trip, because he did not want to buy new swim trunks while he is trying to lose weight. one and a half checked bags were filled with clean clothes when we returned, so I could have done with at least one less bag. I will keep that in mind next time but do not want to do laundry again. I will likely just buy him extra swim trunks anyway if he has not lost enough weight to get into his smaller ones.

Glad everything fit into the mid sized car and that the argument was not too bad. It stinks that Bells made him wait 25 minutes and still did not come. I would have been upset if I was him as well. Although the portions were small, the flat breads looked good, so did the pretzel bites. I cannot believe you are 30. You look so young. Happy belated birthday. Cannot wait to read about it.

[kmedina]

Seems like you had a nice overall birthday. Glad you got through getting the annual passes, TiW, and your Halloween party tickets so quickly. It is a bummer that the park opened at 8 instead if 9, but at least you got a ride in before breakfast. I can totally relate to your feeling of not getting in as much as you wanted. Kids really do take a lot of extra time that you do not really think about when you're planning. We have to stop to nurse them, change them, calm them down when they're upset, slow down during their naps, change outfits frequently, etc. I am really commando style when it comes to touring. Between the kiddos and Crap (who prefers a leisurely pace), I had to get used to getting a lot less done than I wanted each trip.

I have also been where your ADR (that you planned so far in advance) is just too far away. You are enjoying yourself or trying to at least and are not ready to go. We cancelled 2 last minute ADRs two trips ago for that exact reason. Sounds like your replacement lunch ended up being nice anyway. I love the pp picture where Aria looks like she is reaching out to touch Tink. You're right. It is a gem. I have always wanted to get a babysitter to have some adult time in the parks followed by an adult meal. Glad you did it. Too bad she did not turn out as well as you hoped. Putting her pajamas over her clothes is strange. Saying she ate everything when you found it was barely touched is concerning though. Hopefully, you have a better experience if you do it again.

It is a shame that your CG dinner was not good. Dropping that much on dinner stinks when it is not worth it. Thank goodness for your TiW card though to take a little bit of the sting away. I laughed like crazy when you mentioned the birthday cake you did not receive. That is so Crap. No matter how old someone is, I think everyone should have a birthday cake. I also feel like no one should buy her own. We've been together almost 17 years. Despite knowing how I feel about cakes, he has not even taken the time to order them for me on multiple birthdays. He has never had a birthday without a cake, but he just does not get it. Your replacement desserts looked good though.

The firework viewing place looks nice, but I see what you mean about staying in your seats at CG.

[kmedina]

Having the clock set 15 minutes fast is awesome. I may try that next time, since morning ADRs were hard on us. We were going to stay at Poly this trip but cannot afford it. The Tongan toast will elude me one more trip. It looks really good. Did you like it? It is funny that they cut Andrew out of the future picture on Spaceship earth. You and Aria look cute though. At least, all of your pictures appear in the globe.

I've done the Little Mermaid at California Adventure. While better than Nemo at Epcot, it was not much better in my opinion. It makes me wonder why they decided to add it to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe the line is not always dead at MK like it is at DCA though. I love Turtle Talk too. I know what you mean on not wanting to get called out. Xander was selected last time while I was nursing Connor. Crush asked to speak to Xander's parents. I did not want to have the audience focusing on me while I was nursing, so I remained quiet. Luckily, Crap (who was seated in a different place) noticed my silence and spoke up as Xander's parent. It was really cute though.

It is a pain to be near Soarin with a young one. I wish we had our stroller last time. Biergarten is another restaurant I really want to try. Hopefully, the food is better than average when we finally make it there. The show looks fun. I think Figment is cute too. It was Connor's first ride, so I am a little partial.

It's too bad that it rained through your break but at least you got the packing done and Aria took a nap. Both of my boys really enjoyed the straw discovery too. Xander enjoyed it so much that he did not learn to properly drink out of a cup until he was older. The only 2 times we took food to go at WDW restaurants (Mac and cheese since Xander slept through the whole meal) (and a birthday cupcake from Donald's Safari Breakfast), we were given the items inside kids cups. Both servers insisted. I assumed they used cups because one w family style and one was a buffet. It is interesting to see that they did that for you at a regular restaurant too. I like your birthday crown.

Reading your recaps of what you wanted to do versus what you did reminds me of me. I used to plan so much. It is still taking time for me to slow down my commando style to suit Crap's leisure style and the pace the boys can go. When writing my reports, I always think, wow, we did not get much done, did we! Even though it was cold, I hope your dessert was good. It sounds good.

[Imagineer5]

Originally Posted by cbcrockett

Hope y'all are doing well and that Miss Aria had a WONDERFUL first birthday!!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Thank you SO much!!

Originally Posted by Bamadisdreamer

Hope everything is ok, can't wait to hear about your other trips!

everything has been GREAT!! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Originally Posted by cbcrockett

Second!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

LOL sorry to worry you

Originally Posted by kmedina

Subbing to make sure I do not miss the new one. Will catch up on this one soon.

Originally Posted by kmedina

Aria gets cuter every time I see her. I cannot wait to read more about her trip. You got a 3 bedroom condo for 7 days for $350! That is fantastic. I would not pass on that either.

Thanks, yes i know, the price is ridiculous for that amount of space! If only on property was anywhere near that price!

Originally Posted by kmedina

Sounds like Aria did really well on the flight. It reminds me on how well Connor did at 5 months. We just took him again at 21 months, and that did not go as well. The flight home was especially hard. There were 3 lap kids on the plane, and I joked with another passenger that they all took turns crying. While Connor was not the worst of tethered, he was not the best either. The teenager who sat behind us asked Crap if his flight was stressful when it was over. That was not a good sign.

I always overpack too. I forgot I promised Crap I would do laundry during the last trip, because he did not want to buy new swim trunks while he is trying to lose weight. one and a half checked bags were filled with clean clothes when we returned, so I could have done with at least one less bag. I will keep that in mind next time but do not want to do laundry again. I will likely just buy him extra swim trunks anyway if he has not lost enough weight to get into his smaller ones.

Glad everything fit into the mid sized car and that the argument was not too bad. It stinks that Bells made him wait 25 minutes and still did not come. I would have been upset if I was him as well. Although the portions were small, the flat breads looked good, so did the pretzel bites. I cannot believe you are 30. You look so young. Happy belated birthday. Cannot wait to read about it.

Yeah...8m was definitely our EASIEST trip by far

And no, not doing laundry again! Don't like wasting my trip time on it. Granted, now aria's wardrobe is about 99% gentle wash, line dry...hahahah...so I DEF don't want to deal with that!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! haha. We LOVED the tower, and would consider staying at BLT again just to be able to utilize it again. That first night with aria sleeping in the stroller is one of our best memories from the trip.

Originally Posted by kmedina

Seems like you had a nice overall birthday. Glad you got through getting the annual passes, TiW, and your Halloween party tickets so quickly. It is a bummer that the park opened at 8 instead if 9, but at least you got a ride in before breakfast. I can totally relate to your feeling of not getting in as much as you wanted. Kids really do take a lot of extra time that you do not really think about when you're planning. We have to stop to nurse them, change them, calm them down when they're upset, slow down during their naps, change outfits frequently, etc. I am really commando style when it comes to touring. Between the kiddos and Crap (who prefers a leisurely pace), I had to get used to getting a lot less done than I wanted each trip.

I have also been where your ADR (that you planned so far in advance) is just too far away. You are enjoying yourself or trying to at least and are not ready to go. We cancelled 2 last minute ADRs two trips ago for that exact reason. Sounds like your replacement lunch ended up being nice anyway. I love the pp picture where Aria looks like she is reaching out to touch Tink. You're right. It is a gem. I have always wanted to get a babysitter to have some adult time in the parks followed by an adult meal. Glad you did it. Too bad she did not turn out as well as you hoped. Putting her pajamas over her clothes is strange. Saying she ate everything when you found it was barely touched is concerning though. Hopefully, you have a better experience if you do it again.

It is a shame that your CG dinner was not good. Dropping that much on dinner stinks when it is not worth it. Thank goodness for your TiW card though to take a little bit of the sting away. I laughed like crazy when you mentioned the birthday cake you did not receive. That is so Crap. No matter how old someone is, I think everyone should have a birthday cake. I also feel like no one should buy her own. We've been together almost 17 years. Despite knowing how I feel about cakes, he has not even taken the time to order them for me on multiple birthdays. He has never had a birthday without a cake, but he just does not get it. Your replacement desserts looked good though.

The firework viewing place looks nice, but I see what you mean about staying in your seats at CG.

Yes overall the birthday day turned out great, though we will never use KNO again - you are right - the whole not eating dinner thing was really awful. Not knowing how to use Dr Brown's bottles? Terrible.

I now have three WDW trips under my belt, and can honestly say i have slowed down a LOT. But probably not enough for Andrew's liking hahah!

Originally Posted by kmedina

Having the clock set 15 minutes fast is awesome. I may try that next time, since morning ADRs were hard on us. We were going to stay at Poly this trip but cannot afford it. The Tongan toast will elude me one more trip. It looks really good. Did you like it? It is funny that they cut Andrew out of the future picture on Spaceship earth. You and Aria look cute though. At least, all of your pictures appear in the globe.

I've done the Little Mermaid at California Adventure. While better than Nemo at Epcot, it was not much better in my opinion. It makes me wonder why they decided to add it to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe the line is not always dead at MK like it is at DCA though. I love Turtle Talk too. I know what you mean on not wanting to get called out. Xander was selected last time while I was nursing Connor. Crush asked to speak to Xander's parents. I did not want to have the audience focusing on me while I was nursing, so I remained quiet. Luckily, Crap (who was seated in a different place) noticed my silence and spoke up as Xander's parent. It was really cute though.

It is a pain to be near Soarin with a young one. I wish we had our stroller last time. Biergarten is another restaurant I really want to try. Hopefully, the food is better than average when we finally make it there. The show looks fun. I think Figment is cute too. It was Connor's first ride, so I am a little partial.

It's too bad that it rained through your break but at least you got the packing done and Aria took a nap. Both of my boys really enjoyed the straw discovery too. Xander enjoyed it so much that he did not learn to properly drink out of a cup until he was older. The only 2 times we took food to go at WDW restaurants (Mac and cheese since Xander slept through the whole meal) (and a birthday cupcake from Donald's Safari Breakfast), we were given the items inside kids cups. Both servers insisted. I assumed they used cups because one w family style and one was a buffet. It is interesting to see that they did that for you at a regular restaurant too. I like your birthday crown.

Reading your recaps of what you wanted to do versus what you did reminds me of me. I used to plan so much. It is still taking time for me to slow down my commando style to suit Crap's leisure style and the pace the boys can go. When writing my reports, I always think, wow, we did not get much done, did we! Even though it was cold, I hope your dessert was good. It sounds good.

Funny - Andrew just pulled out that crown and put it on Aria's head last night!

I LOVED Tonga Toast and can't wait to go back to Kona. it was delicious. Waiting for them to build a DVC resort at the Poly bc then we would definitely buy in! haha. Our June trip I don't have Kona in the plan, so it will definitely be in our december trip! Yum!

[Imagineer5]

Well, I did the unthinkable. I abandoned my trip report. I thought about it almost daily, and for some reason it just got harder and harder to come back to the DIS. However I had some research for our upcoming trip in 3.5 weeks regarding the grand 1 yacht, so I finally bit the bullet and came back.

Thanks to everyone who has been posting on FB and here.

It's funny, this trip was actually our easiest we have taken with Aria, but at the time it seemed like it went SO TOUGH!

After that trip, we had three nights at POFQ in early December - I warned Andrew he was not allowed to make any comments about touring style and we ended up leaving the trip never having seen Wishes which I was really upset about, so I immediately contacted my DVC points guy to plan a trip for December 2013 - we are going back the 2nd weekend for 4 nights. I have NOT actually planned out our meals yet, but we are staying at VWL which I am super excited about. Now, to convince andrew we need to renew our AP's (they expire October 5th).

Getting ahead of myself...

So then in March I took a trip with my mom and Aria for 3 nights, we stayed at AKV. I just LOVE AKV! We had a good time. My mom and I are SO different, and she was not very helpful with Aria, and Aria was starting to act like a toddler (she was 13m) but it was still a good trip.

I have learned that these long weekend trips are almost more work than they are worth I am planning the 4 night trip in December, with maybe just going to MK and EPCOT - trying to not plan much at all. We will see.

Next up, is our family reunion trip in early June. First 7 nights are offsite at a 6BR rental home (DH's parents are paying!) and then everyone leaves and we get to spend 3 nights at BCV. SO SO excited for this trip. 10 nights is the perfect length of time IMO, since you really can plan some pool/relax time and not feel like you are missing out on other stuff.

[Imagineer5]

As for what I have been up to...it is going to sound silly but i have delved even deeper into the world of cute kids clothes! HAHA. I host shows for Matilda Jane, and am constantly buying and selling fun customs - so Aria's closet is pretty ridiculous right now. It has become a really fun pasttime though. I don't remember the timeframe we left off, but I did have a Minnie themed birthday party for Aria which went great, and she is now 15 months old! Crazy.